It's Back
by anissa1999
Summary: When Ponyboy sees a ten year old greaser girl smoking a cigarette as she walks down the road in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the weird, strange, awkward, and hilarious. No romance, just a character I made up interacting with characters.
1. Chapter 1

**My new Outsiders story. After I watched the movie and read the book in school, I fell in love with the characters and the story, and decided I would write my own fanfiction for it. Thus, this spawned. There's a lot of other ideas I have, but this is just one. :)**

* * *

Ponyboy Curtis liked walking around the neighborhood at night, especially when the sky was clear. The crescent moon smiled down at Earth, and the stars twinkled beside it. Sure, being a greaser in the nighttime wasn't the best thing to be, but he had a pocketknife. And if he didn't have that, he had his fists and mouth. He could take care of himself.

The streets were just about empty, with the occasional car speeding down by him before disappearing in mere seconds. People seemed to be more busy at night than in the day in his neighborhood.

He was wearing a jacket over his shirt, jeans, and sneakers, like he always did. It wasn't cold at all, warmer even, but he wore his jacket anyways. The old thing was comforting, in a way, and he had had it for years.

As Pony rounded a corner, the sound of light footsteps came from ahead of him. He looked farther ahead, but all he saw was a silhouette of a shorter person walking along. A trail of smoke drifted towards him from the figure. He frowned and ran up to it.

It was a girl who looked about ten years old with short, oily brown hair that didn't look like it had been washed in days. She was wearing a jean jacket over a black shirt, rolled-up jeans, and sneakers. In her right hand was a lit cigarette.

When the girl heard his feet, she turned to look at him and Pony could see ignorance and frustration flash over her face before she turned away. She attempted to walk faster, but Ponyboy was four more years older than her and was next to her in a moment.

"What're you doin' out here?" he asked gently, sliding his hands into his pockets.

She took a drag on her cigarette before replying, "What does it look like? I'm walkin' and smokin'." To add onto that, she let out a string of smoke.

"In the middle of the night?"

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence as they walked before he continued, "Who're you?"

"Dolly." In all honesty, she looked nothing like a dolly; she had more of a worn and adventurous look. Her short answer annoyed him, but she continued, "You're Ponyboy Curtis. I saw you and your friends' faces in the paper a few weeks back." She smirked. "Y'all got away with that pretty fast."

Ponyboy didn't know what to say to that, so he asked, "Why are you out here alone? You're not even a teenager." It was probably a stupid question, once he got a better look at her, but children usually don't hang around there at that time.

"You ask a lotta questions," Dolly said. "I ran and left my parents yesterday from Sapulpa and I ended up in Tulsa. They were gettin' on my nerves so I left. Never did like me."

"How'd you get on their nerves?" Pony asked, unsure of why she would be getting on an adult's nerves.

She smiled and blew out more smoke. "Said I had a nicotine addiction at too young 'n age. Said I was lazy and rude and sassy and all that. So I left."

Ponyboy took in this information and replied, "Runnin' away ain't gonna solve anything. Got a place to stay?"

Dolly stopped and put a hand up to her chin. "Hm... does the empty lot count?" she finally said.

Pony frowned and shook his head. "You're comin' with me. To my house." A ten year old shouldn't be outside, no matter how tuff she thought she was. It was winter and it was cold.

The girl's black eyes widened, then switched to anger. "No way, Blondie! Haven't you heard of stranger danger?"

Pony laughed, ignoring her comment about his hair. "Like you would be the one to listen to those kinda rules," he said with a grin.

She straightened up a bit, probably in thought, then stomped her cigarette into the concrete as she said, "Good point. All right, I'll go. But for only one night, got it?"

He nodded and they turned tail, running as if it were a race. Even if Pony was in track, Dolly was just really slow for someone her age, and was huffing and puffing as she knelt over the Curtis porch when they got there. Pony wondered unwillingly if she would be able to outrun a Soc.

The whole gang was in the living room, watching TV, talking, and laughing. When they saw him enter, Darry was the first to speak. "Where were you, kid?" he questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

"Walking around. I found something and took it with me," replied Pony calmly.

Sodapop's eyes brightened and he sat up from his laying position on the couch. "Oh, is it a pony?" he exclaimed, and Darry shot him a look.

Ponyboy just smiled and said, "No, better." He sidestepped over by Steve's seat in the chair. "I found a kid." Dolly stepped into the doorway and leaned against it, muttering a quick "'Sup?"

Darry and Sodapop stared, Steve gave her a weird look, and Two-Bit started downing his beer to see how much he could finish of it, her presence by him unacknowledged.

When Dolly saw his face as he leaned forward with beer dripping from his mouth, she gave a laughing smile and said, "Well, if it ain't Uncle Keith? What a coinkidink." Everybody stared at _him_ now.

Most of the beer that was in Two-Bit's gut spewed onto the table.

* * *

Dun dun DUUUUN...


	2. Chapter 2

Soda glanced from Dolly to Two-Bit, then burst out laughing. "I didn't know you were an uncle," he said between fits of giggles. Everybody else was still kind of... shocked.

Two-Bit wiped off the beer on his chin with a sleeve and replied swiftly, "I'm not; she's my cousin, but she thinks of me as an uncle." He looked her up and down and continued with a more crossed tone, "And she should be in Sapulpa..."

"I ran off from Rosie and Michael yesterday morning," Dolly said stepping into the house. "Nice place ya got here."

Ponyboy started to compare them both. When he thought of their smiles, they were almost identical. She had his sense of humor, his hair, and his smoking, too. It was extremely possible they were related. "And since she ran off," he said, "she has no place to stay. So I took her here."

"And you couldn't have checked with us first, Pone?" Darry said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I mean, it's a nine year old girl you found on the streets-"

"I'm ten!" Dolly interrupted.

Darry ignored her comment and continued, "-and she ran away from her parents. We could get in serious trouble."

"Two-Bit could take her back to his place," Pony suggested quietly and plopped himself into a chair.

The mentioned teen looked over at Pony sharply. "Are you kidding me?" he asked. "My mom hates the kid, and would twist my neck if I brought her in like a lost dog." Dolly glared at him.

"I think I should get going," Steve suddenly said with a sheepish grin, then left without another word. Nobody really noticed, and Steve was glad.

"Then I guess we should keep her here until her parents find out she's in Tulsa," Darry said. He glanced over to Two-Bit. "But you have to help out. She's your niece, after all." He smirked.

Two-But got up and began to take his leave, ignoring the puddle of beer on the table. "I'll come tomorrow morning, I guess," he said. "Just don't tell the police she's here."

Soda pulled in Dolly by her arm and ruffled her hair with a hand. "No problem. She'll be just fine here, right Darry?" He smiled, but Darry didn't reply. Dolly stuck out her tongue at Soda.

"Bye, Uncle Keith!" she said in an overly polite tone as he left. Soda had to contain his laughter at that name.

Pony stood up and made his way into the kitchen. "So, where's the kid gonna crash?"

"The couch," Darry said bluntly.

Dolly cast her eyes to the rough looking couch and groaned, "Seriously?"

Darry didn't answer and just went to his own bedroom. "You deal with her," he called, then his door creaked shut.

The two younger Curtis brothers shared a look. "Did Darry leave us with an irritating child?" Pony asked.

"Yeah…"

Dolly grinned a Two-Bit grin and said, "Get me a blanket."


	3. Chapter 3

It didn't take long for Dolly to go to sleep. After taking off her jacket and getting her a place on the couch, she was out like a light. Soda and Pony were surprised a kid with such a personality could sleep so fast.

The next morning, Darry was reading the paper and stirring a cup of coffee in the kitchen, and Soda was cooking up some green pancakes. Since it was Saturday, Ponyboy was still asleep.

Rustling sounds came from the living room, and Darry looked over to see a groggy Dolly at the doorway. Her dark hair was a mess, and dried drool clinched to her cheeks. "Good mornin'" she said sleepily. "Where's Momma?"

Darry frowned. Dolly probably thought he was her father or something. Sleep either drowned the memories of last night, or she was just half asleep. "She's not here. You're in Tulsa, remember?" he said calmly.

Her eyes widened, then were rubbed with small hands. "Oh. Sorry." She scuttled to the table and quietly sat in a chair. "I smell pancakes…"

"Green pancakes!" Soda added with a smile. Dolly gave him a "you're crazy" stare before laying her chin on the table.

Not long after, Ponyboy came in and sat across from Dolly, looking half asleep as well. He grinned a bit at her and asked, "How was the couch treating you?"

"Good. There's a spring sticking out'f it," Dolly said, pointing to the cushions with a finger.

Darry sighed. "Yeah, we know."

"An' I accidentally ripped a tiny hole n' the armrest."

Darry's gaze switched to her again. "How?" He asked in bewilderment.

She shrugged, and he decided he didn't exactly want to know anymore.

Breakfast was finally served, and they all started eating immediately. Well, except for Dolly. And it wasn't even because her pancakes were green. She was still trying to get a better grasp on her fork.

Soda looked over to Dolly as he ate. Her fingers were tightly clasping the fork, so it was hard for her to get bite-sized pieces off. Apparently, she wasn't even going to bother with the knife by her plate. "You okay?" he asked, and Pony and Darry looked at her as well.

Dolly saw their eyes burning with worry for her and she quickly snatched up a bite. "I'm fine!" she snapped, then continued as if nothing happened.

Soda could tell that she was lying, but pestering her about it wasn't going to help, so he kept eating.

After breakfast, Soda got on his work clothes and headed to DX. Since Darry had to go to a roofing job, he called Two-Bit and told him to come and watch the two kids.

"Why do I need to babysit both of 'em? Pony's a big boy, ain't he?"

"Yeah, but I'm not leaving him alone with a little girl that ripped a hole in our couch."

"… Good point. Be there in five."

Darry hung up and hurried out of the door, leaving Ponyboy and Dolly in the living room.

Pony flicked on the TV and a familiar mouse ran about the screen. "Mickey Mouse is on! Don't change it!" Dolly cried and sat on the floor so she was closer to the show.

"You like watching Mickey Mouse, huh?" Pony asked, slumping into a chair.

Dolly didn't look at him. "Are you kiddin'? I used to watch it with Uncle Keith when he came over," she said, then frowned. "Well, 'til they didn't let him come over no more. Said he was too much offa nuisance."

Pony grinned. That sounded like Two-Bit. They watched for a few minutes until the door opened wide.

"Good mornin', young ones!" he says happily, and Dolly runs over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He smiled at her before she ran back to her spot on the floor. "Do we have any cake?"

"In the fridge," said Pony, gesturing to the kitchen. Two-Bit headed to the refrigerator to get the fluffy goodness.

He came back with a plate of chocolate cake and two forks, then sat on the floor and put a handful of cake in his mouth.

Pony rolled his eyes and picked up a utensil. "Shoot, can't you use a fork?"

"That takes the fun out of it," Two-Bit replied, then looked over to Dolly worriedly as she wrapped her fingers awkwardly around her fork. "You got it, kiddo?"

"God, I hate forks," she muttered. "I'm fine."

He gave her a skeptical look, then grinned and ruffled her hair before directing his attention back to the cartoon mouse.

"She okay?" Pony whispered to him, raising a brow.

Two-Bit said quietly so she couldn't hear, "Poor kid can't use her hands properly. ALS or somethin'." He didn't say anything after that.

Ponyboy frowned. She had been holding the cigarette last night just fine, from what he could tell. Then again, it was pitch black. He couldn't imagine not being able to use his fingers right.

When Mickey Mouse was over, Two-Bit stood up and said with a stretch, "Let's not stay cooped up in here all day. I think Dolly would like to see the outside for once."

Ponyboy stood up and nodded, while Dolly slipped on her jean jacket. "I was wonderin' what you guys did for fun 'round here, besides watch TV an' drink beer." She gave one of those Two-Bit smiles again. Pony liked her smile.


	4. Chapter 4

"Pass me a cancer stick," Dolly muttered. Two-Bit lit one up and gave it to her, making the entire group a bunch of kids with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths.

They were walking through the neighborhood to get to town, and barely anyone was outdoors. With the sun just peeking its head from behind the horizon, a few people decided it was too early to be up on a Saturday. It was quiet. Perfect for them.

That was, until a sleek car drove closer to them from behind. Ponyboy looked behind him and let out a deep sigh before saying, "Socs are behind us."

Two-Bit cursed under his breath.

"A what?" Dolly hissed in confusion, then turned her head to look at the blue car at their side.

"Is this a little grease in training?" the boy in the passenger seat asked with a grin. "Feel sorry for you, kid. Living with that trash."

Two-But gave them a glare that yelled 'leave her alone' and quickly ran down the block at their right. Ponyboy and Dolly came in tow. The Socs tossed a few offensive words at then before speeding off.

When they were sure they were gone, the kids slowed down and stood by each other again. "What was that?" Dolly asked, her dark eyes wide in confusion and fear. For a second, they reminded Pony of Johnny.

"Socs," he replied. When she stared at him, he added, "It's short for Socials. They're the higher part of our, uh, food chain."

"You guys ain't trash," said Dolly in a quiet voice. She looked up at Two-Bit. "'Specially you."

"Yeah, kiddo?" He smiled and messed with her hair. "Guess the Socs ain't realized it then, huh?"

She grinned toothily. "Nuh uh."

Pony chuckled and kicked an empty Coca Cola can in front of him. The similarities of their personalities was uncanny.

"Hey," Two-Bit suddenly piped up. "Your parents still call you Dolores?"

Pony smiled at that name, holding in his laughter. "That's your real name? Dolores?"

Dolly was about to answer her cousin, but glared daggers at Pony instead. "Comin' from the guy whose named Ponyboy," she said, then continued, "Yeah. God, I hate my name. Dolores sounds like 'n old lady name, right?"

Before Dolly could continue, she looked up at the sound of a loud engine. Ahead of them up the road was the same blue car from before. And they were heading in their direction.

"Just keep walki-" Two-Bit started to say, but Dolly turned and ran the other way, running around the block. "Dolly!"


End file.
